comedian david letterman that he's had sex with women on his staff and that someone who knew about it was trying to blackmail him. now a cbs news producer is in custody charged with attempted grand larceny. decision day. will the olympics come back to the united states? president obama makes an impassioned plea overnight to bring the 2016 games to the city he calls home. >> i've come here today to urge you to choose chicago for the same reason i chose chicago nearly 25 years ago. >> but the competition is fierce. we'll go live to copenhagen where the announcement will be made. and mariah on the plaza. second only to the beatles, with 18 number one hits, one of the biggest superstars on the planet. mariah carey is here for a special live concert today, friday, october 2nd, 2009. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

and good morning. welcome to "today" on a friday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. i was watching "letterman" last night -- >> were you really? >> yeah, i was, because i had heard about this. so i'm watching the taping that had been done earlier. and at first, it's obvious the audience thinks it's a joke. >> right. >> doesn't make sense, but then there's no punch line. you realize it's very serious stuff. >> letterman stopped his usual "top ten list" and then told his audience he wanted to tell them a little story and he went on to describe the blackmail attempt in detail. he then confessed he had sex with women on his staff. this morning an employee for the cbs program "48 hours" is under arrest in connection with this case. we're going to have much more on this bizarre story coming up in just a couple of minutes. and also ahead, this is it, the day that we will learn if chicago will be awarded the olympic summer games seven years from now. the competition could come down to two votes, but will it be chicago?

will it be rio de janeiro, madrid or maybe tokyo? we're going to go live to copenhagen in just a moment. but we begin on this friday morning with the extortion plot targeting "late show" host david letterman and his confession that he had sex with female staffers. nbc's michael okwu has details. >> i have a little story that i would like to tell you and the home viewers as well. do you feel like a story? >> reporter: the late-night audience was primed. at first, clearly amused. but then not quite sure where the story was going. >> i get into my car, and in the back seat of my car is a package i don't recognize and have never seen before. and there's a letter in the package, and it says that "i know that you do some terrible, terrible things and i can prove that you do these terrible things," and sure enough, contained in the package was

stuff to prove that i do terrible things. >> you heard a lot of laughter, but that was a lot of nervous laughter. >> reporter: a couple minutes in, perhaps as it was dawning on some folks this was no comedy bit, a bombshell. >> there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. >> reporter: letterman said the man confronted him, demanding $2 million or he would reveal some potentially embarrassing information about the comic's sex life at cbs. >> and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to this is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show.

and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would, especially for the women. >> reporter: jokes aside, letterman said he went to authorities, who had him deliver a bogus check to the suspect, who cbsnews.com identified as robert joe paldeman. >> we do know that he's a producer on the news magazine "48 hours," which airs on the same network, cbs, so, he runs in the same circles, obviously, as dave and dave's staff. >> reporter: it's unclear when letterman had the affairs with his staffers. letterman married regina lasko, his girlfriend of 23 years, in march. the couple have a 5-year-old son harry. in 2004, a house painter was nabbed for plotting to kidnap the comedian's son. before that, a stalker was repeatedly arrested for routinely breaking into letterman's estate before she committed suicide in 1998. through the years, the

62-year-old comedian has made jokes about it all. but last night, letterman ended with a serious note of concern that perhaps this might be different. >> i feel like i need to protect these people. i need to certainly protect my family. i need to protect myself, hope to protect my job and the friends, everybody that has been very supportive through this, and i don't plan to say much more about this on this particular topic, so thank you for letting me. >> reporter: for "today," david oak you. >> good morning to you. letterman talks about finding this package in the car, opening it up and says indeed this guy seems to have a lot of terrible stuff that he knows about him. what would be in that package? >> we don't know, but it's clear that there was evidence, right? we know that it was something that made it very clear to david letterman that this guy could essentially prove that he's done

terrible things, and the allegation is that that's why he's given it to letterman, to make sure he knows, i can release this. i can embarrass you. i can hurt you. and that's going to be a crucial question legally, right, which is the intent. meaning, in these types of cases, very often you see a defense which says, i didn't mean it that way. i didn't mean to suggest this was a quid pro quo. i just wanted him to know what i had. i just wanted to work with him on the project, whatever it is. those are the sorts of defenses we see in cases like this. >> is that why they set up the sting? >> absolutely. look, and that's why i think they wanted to make sure that there was this fake money that was actually -- >> the $2 million check, bogus check. >> that's right, because then you don't face the problem later of, i didn't actually want the money. i just meant it theoretically. but now, the fact that there was actually this phony check written and that he actually received it, now the authorities can say, there was no ambiguity here. it's clear he wanted money for

this and he was paid what he thought was money. >> the fact that letterman was part of the sting, is that unusual? >> no. extortion and these types of alleged crimes are very personal to the individual involved, and so, you kind of need them to play along. and look, they very quickly went to the d.a.'s office here. i mean, letterman goes to his lawyer, they figure out what they think is happening, very quickly bring in the d.a., and this all moves very quickly from there. >> was he smart to talk about it last night? a, he admits on air, yes, i have had sex with women on the show, and he also says i'm trying to protect my job. what are the legal ramifications, in terms of his job? >> see, it's interesting, because he's got both -- two things to think about. number one is the legal issues and number two is the fact that he's a public figure and that his reputation is very valuable to him. so, i think that he wanted to get out there as much as possible, and i think that's what people, when there is an

effort to extort them, try to do. they say, look, here's everything that this person knows about me. here's what happened. so now this person doesn't have anything on me anymore. but as you point out, look, does this open him up to possible lawsuits in the future, et cetera? who knows? who knows how these women feel about the relationships with david letterman. there's no sense, there's no allegation that anyone's upset at letterman. so, at this point, it doesn't seem it's opening him up to anything, but any time you get into these sort of sticky issues and you have to discuss these kind of uncomfortable matters, there's always in the back of your mind these days the questions of not just how's this going to affect me personally, not just how is this going to affect my family, but what could happen legally. >> and the story is just evolving. dan abrams, thanks very much. now let's go back to matt. thank you. now to the much-anticipated announcement of the host city for the 2016 summer olympic games. suspense is building in copenhagen following president

obama's big pitch to the committee. "today" national correspondent natalie morales is inside the hall where the presentations are being made. natalie, good morning to you. >> reporter: and good morning to you. that's right, this convention center right here is where the action is happening right now as we speak. the delegation for rio de janeiro now wrapping up its presentation. the president, inacio dasilva speaking a while ago, along with soccer star pele, making a passionate case for brazil and for rio. but earlier this morning, the spotlight, the focus, of course, was on the president of the united states, barack obama, along with the first lady, as they made a passionate and emotional appeal for chicago. down to the wire. the president swooping in on a whirlwind trip arrived just in time this morning, joining the first lady and chicago's 2016 delegation to deliver the final pitch before the crucial vote by the ioc just hours away. >> it's a bustling metropolis

with the warmth of a small town, where the world already comes together every day to live and work and reach for a dream. that's not just the american dream. that is the olympic spirit. that's why we want them in chicago. >> reporter: the first lady appropriately shining in gold, emphasized chicago's diversity and love of other cultures. >> and i am dreaming of an olympic and paralympic games in chicago that will light up lives and neighborhoods all across america and all across the world. >> reporter: afterwards, the president and first lady took time to shake hands and take photos with the olympic voters, making every last best effort. >> i think chicago could not have made a better presentation. obviously, now it's up to the ioc members. >> reporter: it has been a hard-fought race all along, but especially in these last 48 hours. >> we were saying earlier to those from the united states, it's just like the iowa caucuses, where every single vote counts, and down to the

last second. and we said, do you need a break? and she said, "we didn't come here to rest, we came here to work." >> reporter: the rest of the work is up to the ioc, facing the difficult decision today to send the olympics perhaps to unchartered territory in south america, with the choice of rio, or perhaps more lucrative ground in europe, asia or the u.s. while the tense and tight battle has reached fever pitch, chicago's powerful delegation seems confident. what could this do for chicago, to bring the olympic games back to the u.s.? >> you know, when we get it, the moment -- if we get it and we're, you know, very hopeful -- >> reporter: what's that going to feel like for you? >> we're very hopeful. i'm telling you, the party starts. so, it's a seven-year party. i can't wait. >> we can't wait. >> reporter: thank you. indeed, the celebration already seems to be getting under way on the eve of the vote -- >> chicago! >> reporter: it was chicago's best team effort on display, no matter what. now, the vote will happen just a few hours from now, and here's what will happen.

it will be by secret ballot and electronic. a majority -- that is, 50% of the vote plus one voter -- needs to be had in order for the bid city to win. if in the first round of voting there isn't a majority, it will then move to a second round of voting and possibly even a third round of voting, but we should know in just a couple of hours. and meredith, so much excitement here. we just can't wait. >> natalie, thank you. a lot of excitement here, too. nbc's lester holt is in chicago awaiting today's decision. lester, what is the mood like in the windy city? >> reporter: oh, first of all, people are tired because they've been up since the wee hours of the morning, meredith, watching the president, watching the chicago pitch on tv, all the stations here carried it. behind me is a picasso statue in daley plaza bearing the olympic medal. let me walk you through here. this plaza has always been a source of celebration for chicagoans. the 2005 world series win by the white sox, the '85 bears super bowl championship was celebrated here. what could happen here later today could top all that. they're expecting thousands to

fill this plaza here in the heart of the loop. they've got the jumbopatron set up, where they'll be able to watch the announcement from copenhagen. a stage is set up where there will be an old-fashioned, civic pep rally here, and of course, the world's press is recording it all. they expect to have to close down streets in downtown chicago as thousands pour here. it could rain. certainly won't rain on the parade if chicago gets the 2016 nod. the only thing they worry about is public support here is not as high as some of the other cities. they believe that could hurt them, but people feel really good about the pitch made in copenhagen today, meredith. >> all right. we'll see what happens, lester. thank you very much. it is 7:13. for more, here's matt. >> meredith, thank you. the delegation from rio de janeiro just wrapped up that city's final presentation to the committee. nbc's miguel almaguer is in rio this morning. miguel, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. we can see that presentation over our shoulder on the big screen wrapping up for the folks that are out here. the mood here in rio is as bright as the sun.

roughly 100,000 people are expected to cram into the beach here at the famous strip of the copacaba copacabana. it is an unofficial holiday here for the city and for the region of rio. folks have been told not to go to work. many students have been let out of class. brazilians will tell you they believe rio has an excellent opportunity to bring home these games here. they say they are concerned about chicago. they believe this is a two-city race, but the olympics, they argue, have never been held in south america. now, rio has had four bids for the olympic games, the most recent is '04 and 2012. they say they are prepared. they do have the infrastructure. just two years ago, the panamanian games were held here in rio. they believe it is their turn. now, there is some down sides to the city of rio. of course, they'll need billions of dollars in infrastructure to bring the games here. this city is also notorious for crime. some of the freeways that connect the international airport to the beach strips here have actually been down because of crime.

some also argue that rio is just not experienced enough to host the world. folks here in rio and their committee will certainly tell you they're prepared and they do believe it is their time, matt. >> all right, miguel, thanks very much. miguel almaguer in rio this morning. allen abrahamson is a columnist for universalsports.com, at the bella center in copenhagen where the vote is being held. allen, good morning to you. >> hi, matt. >> we talk so much about rio and chicago. do we have our blinders on? should we be keeping an eye on madrid and tokyo as well? >> you know, not so much tokyo. i think everybody expects tokyo to go out in the first round, and i think frankly, each the japanese expect tokyo to go out in the first round. madrid is an entirely separate story. the former president of the ioc just from spain, of course, he remains a figure of considerable, and i mean considerable influence within the ioc, and it would be a huge mistake to write them off. >> you've written something recently. i want to read it. you said "it will come down to

this -- the united states of america is reaching out to the world. is the rest of the world ready to reach back?" so, you see this as something much bigger than the city of chicago. this is an american bid. >> it's totally an american bid, matt. when you've got not just the mayor of chicago, but the government of the state of illinois, and more importantly, the federal government reaching to and through the president of the united states, who is emotionally involved, personally involved, professionally involved, you've got really, everyone's all in. and i really think the issue here is the president has made it indisputably clear that he is reaching out on behalf of the entire country. is the rest of the world ready to grab the president's hand figuratively speaking? >> let's go to the nuts and bolts real quickly, alan. when we look at things like venues and finances and security, tell me about the strengths and weaknesses for the city of chicago. and we'll do rio right after that. >> okay. the city of chicago has probably -- well, not probably -- the city of chicago

has the, hands down, best bid every put together by an american entry. most of the venues would be along lake michigan. i think anybody who's been to chicago knows the lakefront is spec fak lar. most of the venues would be within a five or ten-minute drive of each other, maybe a little walk. there would be an olympic village just south of the loop. really, it is an exceptionally technical, well thought out -- technical plan is really, really well thought out. financing for the first time ever, the united states has agreed to pay all -- agreed to underwrite all government guarantees. that is a first for an american bid. i mean, if not now, if not with this bid, the question is, what more could the united states do? >> all right, so alan, who's going to win? >> you know, if you'd asked me that question in june, i would have told you probably rio. if you had asked me three weeks ago, i probably would have told you rio. if you asked me today, i'd say probably chicago by a nose. the obamas were rock stars here today. they were absolutely magnificent. >> alan abrahamson putting it on the line there.

thank you so much. we'll be talking with you tomorrow, i'm sure. >> yeah. a lot of people in chicago will be calling him if he's wrong. >> exactly right. now let's check on the rest of the morning's top stories with ann curry at the news desk. good morning, ann. >> good morning, everybody. we begin with the humanitarian tragedy in indonesia, where the u.n. says at least 1,000 people died in wednesday's earthquake. officials say almost 3,000 others may still be trapped in rubble of collapsed buildings, but rescuers have not given up and they're still pulling people out alive. this morning, a teenager was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed school. she had been there some 40 hours after the magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck and under the rubble of other buildings rescuers are still hearing cries for help. more international aid, meantime, is arriving in samoa and american samoa, where the death toll is nearing 200 in tuesday's earthquake and following tsunamis. hundreds of people are still missing on those islands. president obama has called on iran to allow international inspectors unfettered access within two weeks to his

previously undisclosed uranium enrichment plant, and iran has agreed to cooperate. it is just one of the breakthrough at the much-anticipated talks in geneva on thursday. and nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell joins us again from there. hey, andrea, good morning. what are the details? >> reporter: good morning. well, there could be a lot here, a lot could come to pass if iran does not renege. the president is taking a stern tone because iran has not delivered before, but if they do, in addition to letting those u.n. inspectors into that secret nuclear site, they are promising to take most of their stockpiles of low-grade, enriched uranium fuel and turn it over to russia and france to be processed into a form of fuel that could not then be used to make a nuclear bomb. this could be a very big deal. mohammed al bairdie, head of the u.n. nuclear agency, is going to be in tehran tomorrow to try to follow up. and iran has promised to be back with the world powers by the end of the month at another meeting. ann? >> all right. sounds like a lot of creative thinking in those negotiations.

andrea mitchell, thank you. iran will be the topic on sunday when the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, appears on "meet the press." and the replica of the wright brothers' plane crashed in ohio, injuring a pilot. he had been practicing for an upcoming event to mark the anniversary of practical flight more than 100 years ago. it makes us mindful about just what a miracle it is that we can fly. it is now 7:20. let's now go back to matt, meredith and al. >> we should probably embrace the new technology in aviation after all this time. not ad bad idea. we hope he's okay. >> nice of you to add that. >> exactly. >> i didn't realize that was going down the wrong path. >> save us, al, save us. >> a check of the weather, pal. >> mr. sensitive! let's take a look, show you what's going on right now, and you'll see we've got this, just a

>> we have our best shot of seeing showers this night and overnight and into tomorrow morning. mild today with clouds on the increase through the afternoon. >> that's your latest weather. meredith? >> thanks, al. and still ahead, we will have much more on that extortion plot targeting david letterman and his admitted sexual encounters with workers from his show. -n( music playing )kers from his - we know technology can make you more connected.

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forces his family's reality show to stop production. kate's legal adviser speaks out. plus, mariah carey after your local news. ♪

>> live, local, and late breaking. >> good morning, everybody.

the time is 7:26. baltimore city police are searching for the man forced his way into a home in west baltimore. he held a woman at knifepoint and raped her and beat her with a baseball bat. police believe the suspect to be in his early 20's, and 5 foot, 7 inches tall. this is a composite sketch. the victim does not know her attacker. anyone with information should call -- let's check on the morning commute. >> dealing with a couple accidents this morning and have delays at white marsh boulevard and route 4 has an accident wrapping up. we have a crash also clearing up and delays for me on the north and west side of eastbound by- 70.

south of 95 has an accident at route 24. watch for delays developing there. there is about 40 minutes to get through the outer loop west side to lead. -- west side the leg. -- west side delay. our delays are in place on harford road. there are standard delays on the west side. >> some clouds out there now and it is miler but the showers will be rolling into night and through tomorrow. a very strong line of showers from the great lakes to the deep south and houston, texas. 74 degrees today and a 30% chance of showers into the evening and a 50% chance of showers tomorrow morning.

>> be sure to check our website for updated news. for updated news. our

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morning, october 2nd, 2009. and talk about devotion. mariah carey's fans started lining up overnight in 47-degree weather to see her perform live out on the plaza, and that concert is coming up one hour from now. inside studio 1a, i'm meredith vieira alongside matt lauer. still ahead, real-life drama for reality stars jon and kate gosselin. >> jon has now stopped production of their reality show, even posting a sign on the front gate warning the crews to keep out. he claims he had an epiphany that the show was not healthy for the couple's children. kate says the timing is curious, considering jon's name was just stripped from the title of that show. so, what's next? kate gosselin's legal adviser will speak out in an exclusive, live interview. also ahead, there are new developments in the murder case against casey anthony, the florida mother accused of killing her toddler, caylee. her lawyers are now asking for the murder charge to be dismissed. they're going to tell us why when they join us, coming up.

but we're going to begin with elizabeth smart and never-before-heard details about her nine-month kidnapping ordeal back in 2002. she took the witness stand on thursday at a competency hearing for her alleged abductor, facing him for the first time in seven years. nbc's chris jansing is in salt lake city, utah. chris, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. it will be a few months before we know the legal impact of elizabeth smart's testimony, but i was in that courtroom, and i can tell you, the emotional impact was tremendous, as she gave the details of what can accurately be described as a journey to hell and back. it had to be tremendously difficult, but her father told me that elizabeth is determined to see that the man who kidnapped her is never again free to hurt another little girl. under the glare of the media barrage, elizabeth smart entered the salt lake city courthouse looking confident, purposeful, to tell her story for the first time ever in public. the testimony began with a single sentence. "a man broke into my house and held me at knifepoint and

kidnapped me." she identified that man as brian david mitchell, and in a calm, steady voice, described him during almost unspeakable brutality when she was just 14. >> there were certainly a lot of things that i had never heard before, and i had to -- i had no idea what she had gone through so much out there. >> reporter: elizabeth told of having a knife at her throat and back as she was taken out of her home in the middle of the night and made to hike into the wooded hills where mitchell and his wife had set up camp. there, she was forced to change out of her pajamas. "i went ahead and put the robe on," she testified, "after which he came in the tent and performed a ceremony which was to marry me to him. i screamed no, but that did not have any effect on him. and he said if i were to scream, he would kill me. after that, he proceeded to rape me." it was the beginning of nine more months of terror, almost

daily sexual assaults. she testified that mitchell was obsessed with sex, that he used drugs, alcohol and pornography to try to lower her resistance, and for a time, "he had a big cable bolted onto my leg," she said, "which was strung between two trees and there was a lock." often, there was little food. once she survived for a week on rainwater. she called mitchell "crude," "vulgar," and a hypocrite to get what he wanted. with family members directly in her sight, elizabeth said confidently she never fell for his manipulation. >> i can't tell you what it meant to me to hear her say, you know, the times that she said no to him and the times that, you know, she tried to get away. >> reporter: as he's done before, mitchell entered the courtroom singing religious hymns and refused to stop until the judge had him removed. it would have been the first time elizabeth had seen him since she was found in 2003. >> she actually wanted to face

him. and in fact, i think she asked brad if he could be muzzled and have to sit there and watch it. >> reporter: the testimony was by any measure a remarkable testament to resilience, dignity and faith. asked by mitchell's attorney, "when you say, "i was recovered, i was found, he was captured," what's the phrase you use?" elizabeth answered simply, "i came home." i was watching her family there in the front row throughout her testimony. it seemed to be particularly difficult for her brothers, but afterwards, all of them -- her parents, her grandmother, her uncle -- all talked about how proud they were of her, and when asked how she was doing, they said she was relieved. meredith? >> what a remarkable and very strong young woman. chris jansing, thank you very much. we're going to change subjects dramatically here. and d

>> we are looking for a transitional day with an increasing clouds so mainly to

partly cloudy and up to 74 degrees. there's a chance of showers this evening in a better chance >> and, of course, it's friday, and you know what that means. that's right, it's sunday night, "football night in america." that's right. the san diego chargers bring their 0-13 record against the steelers into heinz stadium. can they catch up? i don't know. partly cloudy, cool, temperatures 53 to 57. on sunday night "football night in america."

meredith. >> al, thank you. still ahead, much more on david letterman's stunning confession that he became the target of blackmail after he had sex with female staffers. we're going to have the latest on that. but up next, does newly released dna evidence suggest casey anthony did not kill her daughter? her attorneys speak out in an exclusive live interview.

back now at 7:40 with new developments in the casey anthony case. she is the florida mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter caylee. her attorneys are now asking for the murder charge to be dismissed. we'll talk to them exclusively in a moment, but first, nbc's kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: it took casey

anthony 31 days to own up her daughter caylee was missing, a month-long period where the then 22-year-old partied around orlando and admittedly lied to investigators when they asked questions. odd behavior that triggered investigators' suspicions. and eventually, casey's arrest on charges she murdered her own daughter. in just-filed motions, casey's lawyers argue "the court should dismiss the first-degree murder charge against miss anthony because the state's case is based entirely on circumstantial evidence." but what about all the scientific evidence -- the duct tape found on caylee's skull, the bags of evidence gathered from the woods where her body was found and more evidence pulled from her house, the car, the toxicology tests? all of it was said to be overwhelming and easily supported a death penalty case. but now, with almost 10,000 pages of evidence and analysis, the science still does not connect casey to her daughter's

body. but the defense says newly released fbi investigative documents suggest someone else's dna was on caylee's body. a single strand of hair was found, but it is not consistent with originating from caylee anthony or casey anthony. forensics experts say this could be a problem for prosecutors. dr. bruce levy is the chief medical examiner in tennessee. he's provided forensic expertise in hundreds of criminal cases. he says when juries have a circumstantial case, they want dna to answer their reasonable doubts. >> i've been involved in cases where jurors struggle over these very issues, trying to reconcile what they believe they've learned from these fictional shows, the "csi" effect from the reality of what's going on. >> reporter: casey's parents, cindy and george anthony, asked their lawyer to make public these documents questioning the strength of the state's

scientific evidence. each piece of data is like a link in a chain, says attorney brad conway. >> now we're getting to the point where the links are being questioned, and those links are what's called reasonable doubt. >> reporter: this is what almost 10,000 pages in court documents look like, and there's still more to come before a june trial. prosecutors say, in these court documents, they believe the evidence exists to convict casey anthony. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, orlando. >> casey anthony's attorneys, jose baez and lynn mckinney bodden are here with us exclusively. >> good morning. >> so the prosecution dumps these documents, piles of pages and days later you file motions asking for the death penalty and first-degree murder charges to be dropped. so, what did you see or not see in those documents that made you file those motions? >> well, you know what, matt, we've been asking for these documents for ages, for eight months now, and we finally got some of them, not all of them.

and what we saw was that there is a foreign hair at the crime scene. and that's why you do crime scene evidence is to see what other hairs there might be. that does not belong to my client. >> what are some explanations? could it be a hair from an investigator, a police officer? >> let me say, if it was casey anthony's hair, you would say that's it right there. what you have is foreign dna on the duct tape, no toxicology showing chloroform. all of the things the public was led to believe are true, they were misled. >> as defense attorneys, you are do what defense attorneys should do. you file the motions to get the charges dropped and the case dismissed and for your client to get out of jail. is that really a possibility after all that's gone on here? >> well, what you also need to look at, too, is what prosecutors must do is prosecute their case, and what they are lacking in this situation, with all that's coming out is any forensic evidence, and that's the problem with the case is there's not enough to substantiate these charges, which are first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

>> what you're saying is there's not enough to answer certain evidentiary requirements. for example, how did caylee anthony die, when did she die, where did she die? is there proof of any violence, who killed her and was it murder? >> and that's what you need. >> to prove murder in a death penalty case. >> and you need something connecting her to the crime scene. of all the evidence they have, nothing -- the fibers found on the duct tape do not connect her to the crime scene, nothing. there is no fingerprint evidence. nothing connects her to the crime scene. >> but folks, for all the questions that you raise, and appropriately raise, people watching right now are going to raise the other questions and say, if she didn't report her daughter missing for a month, if she went out and partied during that month, if she admits that she lied to investigators about what she knew and what she did, then how do you answer those cases? >> well, because people do stupid things all the time. people confess to crimes did not commit, and when you get the scientific evidence, they confess to a crime somebody else did. so, you can't go by the

inflammatory, oh, what would i have done, what would she have done, what would someone else have done? you have to go by the hard evidence. >> last time you were on the show, you were criticizing selective leaks on the part of the prosecution. you say people don't know the truth because the evidence is flawed and the information is flawed. what is the truth? do you know the truth? >> well, the truth will come out at trial, should we get to that point. hopefully, the court will consider our motion, dismiss this first-degree murder charge and the aggravated battery of a child, aggravated child abuse, and what needs to come out is the truth, and that will come out at trial. >> such a basic question in a case like this. can casey anthony get a fair trial in that location? are you going to need a change of venue here? >> yes, yes. we filed a change of venue motion and we believe we can get a fair trial if the judge does the right thing and follows the law. >> okay. linda and jose, thanks very much. >> thank you, matt. thank you very much. >> we appreciate it. we'll follow this story. still ahead, david letterman

admits that he had a sexual relationship or sexual relationships with workers on his show and that he's the victim of a blackmail attempt. we'll hear more from him.

♪ take a look at that big crowd for mariah carey. al, how's it looking? >> wow, it is big, big, big, meredith. got a lot of folks out here, all hanging out, having a great time. and this is just amazing.

what time did you get here? >> what time did we get here? >> yeah. >> like 3:30. >> 3:30 this morning? how cold was it? >> from connecticut. freezing. >> but you're here now. >> it's worth it. >> it's worth it? >> for mariah, of course. >> we've got all these people here. wow. what time did you get here? >> about 6:00 this morning. >> for your birthday! >> for my birthday. >> you know what, we're holding this concert just for you for your birthday. >> yay, thank you, that's great! >> thank you. >> thank you, al. >> now come down here. hi, how are you? are you a big mariah carey fan? >> yes. >> yes! and what's your name? >> sheryl. >> sheryl, what time did you get here? >> 7:15? >> oh, not so late! >> not so late. >> which explains why you're all the way back here. >> exactly. >> but you'll be part of the crowd, the experience. >> it's the new york experience. >> it's the new york experience. very, very exciting. so, everybody's ready. mariah, actually, things are warming up. going to be perfect for her. if you're in the area, come on down. matt, meredith? >> all right, al. it's great to see all those people out there. we thought the concert series

was over, but then mariah comes and brings it back! >> concert's coming up. first, your local news and weather.

>> live, local, and labor agreed this is wbal, a tv 11 news today baltimore. >> good morning, i and stan stovall. the baltimore city police upper is out on bail after being charged with illegal possession of narcotics, misconduct, and

theft. the state's attorney's office filed the charges against the 29-year-old. he is the same officer who was shaking down drug suspects for cash. he was caught in a sting. he is expected back in court next month. let's get a check on the morning commute. >> a few accidents to watch for at this hour but thankfully the delays are starting to filter out i-295 at route 24 in the edgewood area, there's an accident that blocks the ramp. we are dealing with some delays but not to bet on the outer loop north and west. jfx looks good. cranbrook we have an accident. southbound 7 i-295 is looking

better now. 13 minutes on the ever loop. -- the outer loop. here's a quick live look at traffic from harford road. it is looking good on the west side of rte. 40. >> some clouds out there. it is humid and mild today on the warm side of an intense system where the cold front will move through overnight tonight. our best shot of showers is late into the evening and overnight. mostly cloudy today ended to beat 70's and the best chance of showers overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning. it will clear out late saturday and beautiful on sunday. >> be sure and check our updated news and traffic information

♪ 8:00 now on a friday morning. it's the 2nd day of october

2009. we have got a huge crowd out on the plaza this morning. they're patiently waiting for one of the biggest names in pop music today. mariah carey is putting on a concert for these people about 30 minutes from right now, and this is one we've been looking forward to all summer long, now into the early part of fall. i'm matt lauer along with al roker. meredith is, even as we speak, on her way out here. and coming up in this half hour, we're going to have more on this shocking news coming out of the "late show" and david letterman. >> really amazing. last night on letterman's show, "late night," he talked about someone found out about his sexual relationship with female staffers on the show, laenge tried to blackmail him. a cbs news producer is now in custody. we're going to hear from david letterman in just a moment. also, we're going to be talking about the fact that tlc has apparently halted production of that reality show that's now called "kate plus 8," formerly

"jon & kate plus 8." he has apparently issued a cease and desist order. doesn't want that show shot on his property anymore. kate's legal adviser is going to be on to tell us a little bit about what she may be saying about that development. >> what a mess. >> did we not predict that? >> yes, yeah. >> remember the first few times we covered that story, we said this isn't going to end well. >> although you didn't have to be too much of a fortune teller to know. >> we're not clairvoyant here. and first note, it's time to find out "where are we today?" on thursday, we showed you this shot of an undisclosed location. >> the answer, a well-known site off of route 66 in amarillo, texas. our camera has been at cadillac ranch, where a dozen graffiti-covered cars are half buried in the texas panhandle. it's located near the historic route 66 in amarillo. creators encourage visitors from

around the world to bring their own spray-paint and add to the experience. ♪ ♪ i'm gonna pack my amp, i'm gonna take them down to the cadillac ranch ♪ >> would you have guessed that is this. >> never would have gone there. >> actually, i was guessing the yugo ranch. >> the subway -- >> the subways don't have any graffiti on them. ann curry's got a check of the headlines. >> good morning once again, everybody. in the news, grave news from indonesia, where it's now estimated that nearly 3,000 people may still be trapped under the rubble of wednesday's earthquake. rescuers haven't given up hope on finding survivors. just this morning they pulled a young woman out alive and say they can still hear the cries of other people. the u.n. says at least 1,100 people have died. meantime, thousands of survivors in the samoan islands are now living in shelters after the tsunamis there.

more than 165 people have died and hundreds are still missing. today the international olympic committee announces which city will get the 2016 olympic games, and in copenhagen this morning, the president made a personal push for his hometown, which is competing against madrid, tokyo and rio de janeiro. meantime, before leaving copenhagen, the president met with the commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan, general stanley mcchrystal, on board a parked air force one. the white house says the two discussed the strategy going forward in afghanistan but did not release any other details. president obama is now weighing mcchrystal's recommendation to increase troop levels in afghanistan. overseas markets are down. cnbc's melissa francis is at the new york stock exchange. hey, melissa. >> hi, ann. the focus really today is on those unemployment numbers, this one day after the dow, the russell and the s&p had their biggest single-day drop since july. one of the reasons, auto sales, which tanked in september on the heels of the cash for clunkers program. gm reported a 45% decline versus a year ago, chrysler 42%.

only hyundai bucking the trend, up 27%. ann, back to you. >> all right, melissa, thank you so much. finally now, some clown paid $35 million to go into orbit and made it to the international space station this morning. in fact, he was the founder of cirque du soleil. laliberte. he threatens to tickle the cerp while they're sleeping. uh-oh, that could be annoying. it is now 8:04. time for the weather and al. >> announcer: "where are we today" is brought to you by comfort suites and the other fine choice hotels. got some more big mariah fans over here. you guys have a pretty good shot there, see mariah. are you excited about this? >> huge fan. >> yeah. >> yeah! >> yes! >> so excited! >> you're so excited.

>> happy friday. we will see a mix of clouds today and maybe some light rain showers developing this evening. up to 74 degrees today and tomorrow morning, a good chance of showers w >> that's your latest weather. mr. lauer?

>> mr. roker, thank you very much. when we come back, mariah carey live in concert. plus, more on david letterman's shocking revelation and the extortion plot against him, right after this. really bad. then we learned that a flu shot can reduce the risk of getting the flu by up to 70%. we got our flu shots at cvs pharmacy. best thing we ever did. yes, indeed. [ laughs ] come in to get a flu shot today and get a $100 coupon book just for stopping by. go to cvs.com to find a flu shot location near you.

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taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. ask your doctor about cymbalta. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. back at 8:08 with more on that bombshell from david letterman. instead of delivering his customary "top ten list" last night, the "late show" host launched into a bizarre story about sex with staffers and blackmail. and this morning an employee for the cbs news program "48 hours"

is under arrest, charged with attempted grand larceny. here's a look. >> this started three weeks ago yesterday, and i get up early and i come to work early, and i go out and i get into my car, and in the back seat of my car is a package i don't recognize and have never seen before and don't usually receive packages 6:00 in the morning in the back of my car. i get to looking through it and there's a letter in the package, and it says that "i know that you do some terrible, terrible things and i can prove that you do these terrible things," and sure enough, contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. so, i go through it and i study

it, and what this is is a guy is going to write a screenplay about me. and you know, that's good news for anyone, isn't it, really? in this packet, there seems to be quite a lot of terrible stuff he knows about, and he's going to put it into a movie unless i give him some money. yeah. so, i call my attorney, and he takes a look at it and he says, well, let's schedule a meeting with the guy just to see what he has in mind. so, there's a meeting with the guy, and it turns out, yes, in fact, he wants a large sum of money or he's going to produce this screenplay of all the terrible things that i do. embarrassing, terrible things. so, then we call an operation called the special prosecution bureau, which is a division of the manhattan district attorney's office. so, we took the stuff down there and they said, whoa, hello, this is blackmail. now, i don't think i ever

mentioned the amount up until now, but he was asking $2 million. i had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury, yeah. and i had to tell them how i was disturbed by this, i was worried for myself, i was worried for my family. i felt menaced by this. and i had to tell them all of the creepy things that i have done that were going to be -- well, now, why is that funny? that's, i mean -- so, the idea is, if they believe, in fact, a crime has been committed, then they issue a warrant, and that's exactly what happened, and a little bit after noon today, the guy was arrested. [ applause ] and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who

work on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would, perhaps it would, especially for the women. but that's a decision for them to make if they want to come public and talk about the relationships, if i want to go public and talk about the relationships. but what you don't want is a guy saying, oh, i know he had sex with women, so yeah, i would like $2 million or i'm going to make trouble for you. so, that's where we stand right now. >> let's welcome back in nbc's chief legal analyst dan abrahams along with steve adubato, msnbc.com's media analyst and bonnie fuller, editor in dheef of hollywoodlife.com. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good to be here. >> starting with you and bonnie,

we're watching this tape today. >> sure. >> he's admitting some pretty shocking stuff about extortion and having sex with female employees, but in a lighthearted way. is that going to work against him? >> first of all, the audience who loves him loves him. you can see it there. first of all, they can't even tell whether or not it's real. he gets points for full disclosure. a lot of times you're outed by people who have information. i argue, get the bad stuff out there. the problem is, just like the michael richards situation, where he said let me get my apology out there on letterman, people were laughing. they don't know what the joke is. they don't know what's serious. the other part is this, this is a guy for years, he's gone after clinton, the lewinski thing, sarah palin's daughter. you put it all together, very funny guy, very talented. i'm a fan of his. i don't think he did this well. >> do you agree, bonnie some. >> actually, i disagree. i think he was very smart to do full disclosure, and i think, yes, i think the audience didn't realize that it was real. however, there's a difference here between him and some of these other cases.

when these affairs, which i assume they were occurred, he was not a married man. he's also not a politician. he doesn't have to come to have the same standard of behavior as somebody who's going to lead the country. >> even if they're in the company and they work for him? >> he was not married. we all know people have office romances. >> but steve, you have a good point. i'll ask you about that, dan, because he does run the company. he's the boss. so couldn't this have some serious legal ramifications for him, saying, yeah, i have had sex with women in the company? >> sure, but the women know he has sex with them. it's not a disclosure to the women he had sex with. they know that. so if they want to do something, if they felt it was inappropriate or improper, they would have done something with it already. >> but maybe cbs will decide 's improper. >> maybe, maybe. my guess is that cbs is n going to say that it's per se improper for david letterman to have had sex with people he works with. they would probably say we'd rather you didn't. it's not a good idea. it doesn't help if anything comes up. you can expose us to legal

liability. but the fact that he's admitting this on television i don't think necessarily opens up a whole new can of worms here. >> i'm okay with you on this, da and i'm not a prude about this stuff at all. and you know, people live their lives. but here's my problem -- you're not just the head of the company, he's who he is, power, perceived power. you say that those women could have done something about it. >> i'm not making a judgment about the fact that he had sex with these women. i'm not making a judgment about that at all. what i'm saying is that the question was whether now that he's admitting it publicly on television -- >> it's not going to go away. >> no, is he now opening himself up legally? and my answer is that maybe, but i don't think it fundamentally changes anything from the fact that if these women had wanted to pursue it legally before, they might have. >> maybe. maybe, but i'm dealing from a pr point of view, and i'm telling you, part of his problem is the persona, the snarkiness, the jokes and everything else. you put it together, his audience will love him, but

others will say, wait a minute -- >> that may be true but i don't know that he had a choice. >> he also said he's not going to talk about this anymore. >> he may not want to. he doesn't get that choice. just because he started it. >> i don't know the legal aspect of the situation, but there's a lot we don't know here. we don't know when the relationships occurred. now, his former girlfriend, meryl marco, she used to be a writer with him. they worked together. they had a relationship for many years, and i think there's a difference between a power relationship where you're the boss, the immediate subordinate, and you are applying pressure. but when you are -- when there's been long-term relationships, i think that that can be a very different situation. >> but let me switch gears -- >> but he was a victim. he was a victimhere. for us -- >> not the total victim, but go ahead. >> what do you mean, not total victim? >> how difficult will it be for him to prove his case if he wanted to? >> look, the defense in these types of cases tends to be, they misunderstood. it tends to be, that's not what i meant, i didn't mean he had to give me the money. now, in this case, they gave him a phony $2 million check.

so, what might the defense be? i thought we were going to do a movie together. i thought we were going to write a book together. is that going to be the defense here? i don't know, but that's the sort of defense we see in cases like this. >> dan looks at it from a purely legal point of view, which is what he's supposed to do. when i say he's not the total victim, i don't meanly, but from the public perception, a number of people, disproportionately women, will say give me a break, dave. you had the power, you've done it over a period of time and you're making jokes about it. >> does that mean he should be extorted? >> absolutely not, he should not be extorted. >> this could be discussed all day and all weekend. thank you for coming in. up next, jon gosselin puts a stop to his family's tv show. we'll talk to their legal adviser about this.

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- hey, ken. - hey, kenny. hey, ken. - kenny. - all: kenny. and we could all use a little more quality these days. jon and kate gosselin's divorce is apparently taking a strange turn. on thursday, tlc announced it's shutting down filming of their reality tv show after receiving a cease and desist order from jon's lawyer. nbc's peter alexander has the details. peter, good morning to you. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. in the past few days, we learned that "jon & kate plus 8" will now be renamed "kate plus 8" and jon would have a limited role on the show, but he as not on board with that plan and now says his children's participation is hurting them. >> i need to be a father. i need to be a father and i need to take my kids off the show. >> reporter: a new reality for jon gosselin, appealing on

"larry king live" alongside his attorney thursday night. jon explained why he wants his children off the family's hit show. >> i don't think it's healthy for them and i -- the reason i don't think it's healthy for them is that we're going through a divorce right now and i don't think it should be televised and i think my kids should be taken off the show. >> reporter: on the gate of his family's pennsylvania home, which he owns with ka, jon posted this sign, warning tlc crews to keep out, and so far, they've listened. >> daddy, we're doing interviews. >> reporter: tlc announcing on thursday that any snooting involving the gosselin children has been suspended. >> well, jon decided to stop production of the show just days after it was announced that tlc was going to call the show "kate plus 8" and his role was going to be diminished. the timing is a little bit funny considering six days earlier he was happily participating in the show and he was filming with his children. >> reporter: kate, meanwhile, continues to tell her side of the story, saying in a statement, "i do the show for my family because i believe it provides us opportunities we wouldn't otherwise have. jon used to share that belief

until as rently as the day the network announced the name change of the show and indicated that jon would have a lesser role in the show." >> aiden and joel, do you want to share? >> reporter: kate also says while her priority has always been her children and their wellbeing, jon's priority is jon and his interests. a show that started out documenting life with eight kids has quickly turned into a real-life drama. this year, following reports of jon's infidelity, jon and kate's lives were splashed across magazine covers. and in june, the couple announced their marriage was ending. >> we can't be cordial with one another, then we've decided to separate. >> reporter: now jon is hoping the family's reality tv show comes to an end, too. >> we know we're not going to be husband and wife anymore, but we're always going to be mom and dad. we have to work together against this. we have to pull our kids off of television and work this out as a family. >> reporter: and tlc told us that despite jon's now limited

role on the show, he remains under contract, meaning he's still getting paid. by the way, jon told larry king last night the family made $22,500 an episode last year. matt? >> all right, peter alexander. peter, thank you very much. mark mangian is kate gosselin's legal adviser, joins us now exclusively. mark, good morning, nice to see you. >> good morning, matt. >> i don't normally start with questions like this, but what's going on here? >> well, i think this is less about a change of heart and more about a change in strategy. >> on jon's part. >> on jon's part. i couldn't help but watching the segment that meredith vieira had on that japanese international kidnapping and talk about the grave risks to those children. here we have children that are loved by both of their parents. jon admits that his wife is a wonderful parent. they live in their family home. kate is their primary caretaker. they have reached agreements about custody. >> yeah, but he's saying now, he's saying with this divorce, these kids, being on tv is not the healthiest thing for him, and i would imagine there are a lot of people who are probably

listening to that and saying you're right, but you should have said this a year ago. >> well, he could have said it a year ago, but he didn't. in ct, his active participation and encouragement of the show involved all the children and a decision by both parents to include the children and continue production. >> kate was watching this last night as he appeared on "larry king"? >> she's seen the segment. >> so what's her reaction to all this? >> well, she doesn't know which jon is going to show up. i mean, he's obviously different people at different times. >> basically, tlc released a statement on behalf of kate that said, in effect, i continue to do this show because it provides me a way to support these children and opportunities for these children. obviously, money is important to her. so, you know, is it her plan to continue doing this if she can find a way around this? >> i think if she could, and she would, and she is going to honor her contract. she'd like to continue with the show. she loves doing the show. >> is it your understanding that legally he can stop the show

from being produce smaed. >> no. it's my understanding just the opposite. these parties entered into an agreement once the divorce action was filed that allowed each parent that had physical custody of the children to make the filming decisions when the children were with them. so, when the children are with kate, jon agreed that kate would make the filming decisions involving the kids. >> these two don't talk very often? this would be a real good time for them to get together face to face and work this out. >> i agree, but it's really not kate's position. she really does want to engage jon. it's just that he's not engaging her back, and that's regrettable in any custody case. >> mark, thanks for your time. i appreciate it. >> thanks, matt. >> good morning. i a mindy basera.

is it, 26. a baltimore city police of a search is recovering from a truck, after being a drag for several blocks by a suspect trying to flee the scene in a corporate officer was dragged for five blocks after the suspect tried to escape. the officer is in fair and stable condition as his bulletproof vest absorb much of the damage to his body. let's get a final check on your morning commute. >> a few new problem spots came up. at 25th and green mount, we have a problem. we're not doing that bad with delays. it is starting to filter out. seven i-295 and i-70 are easing up with the exception of this one southbound on the harrisburg express' way down to the beltway. your drive time is 40 minutes on the outer loop and 13 minutes as

you make your way towards 83. here is a live view of traffic at harford road. that delay is gone and that is good news. this is a live view of the west side where there is a little slowing. we are doing pretty well overall this morning. >> we're looking at some clouds out there. it will be mostly cloudy today and mild right now. the temperature has risen to 60 degrees but we will be in the 70's today and a better chance of showers after midnight through tomorrow morning. it will then clear and we will see some on sunday. >> thanks for joining us. we'll have another update at 8:55.

♪ 8:30 now on this friday morning, october 2nd, 2009. our plaza packed with a sea of mariah carey fans. and folks, it will not be too much longer. an entire half hour of music just moments away. and a lot of these people have been here all night, and i don't think that they can wait much longer. >> they'll just have to wait a couple minutes. this is really going to be fun. this is a huge crowd. and again, any time you wake up and get to a place at 2:30 in the morning to see a singer, that means you really have devotion to that person. >> that's exactly right. >> that's nice. later on, real quickly, we're going to talk about some products that have been recalled that you may still have in your home and that could pose a threat to your family. we'll be talking more about that. >> okay. also coming up, we'll be talking about our teen

sensation, selena gomez, star of the emmy award-winning show "wizards of waverly." where is she? >> she's right over there. >> debut album "kiss and tell" released this week. >> good to see you. good to have you here. >> before we get to the show, you were in the crowd unicef, youngest member ever. tell us about your role with the organization and particularly the trip you took to africa, to ghana. >> i've been working with them for a good year and a half now and last year i raised about $7 thnd,000 for unicef and this year they asked me to be their ambassador and i got to go to africa to do field work and see how thth

>> we will see an increase in clouds throughout the day with temperatures in the 70's. showers are in coming this evening, overnight tonight, through tomorrow morning and

>> and that's your latest weather. matt? ♪ make it happen >> announcer: the toyota concert series on "today," brought to you by toyota. toyota, moving forward. >> and the fans have been waiting since the wee hours of the morning. we're not going to make them wait anymore. ladies and gentlemen, mariah carey. >> what's up, new york! ♪ >> we're gonna try and make it happen for you this morning, is that all right? let me hear you! ♪

♪ not more than a few short years ago i was abandoned and alone without a penny to my name ♪ ♪ so very young and so afraid, no proper shoes upon my feet, sometimes i couldn't even eat ♪ ♪ i often cried myself to sleep but still i had to keep on going ♪ ♪ never knowing if i could take it, if i would make it through the night ♪ ♪ i held on to my faith, i struggled and i prayed and now i've found my way ♪ ♪ if you believe in yourself enough and know what you want, you're gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, he's gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪

♪ oh, oh, oh, make it through the night, i held onto my faith, i struggled and i prayed, and now i've finally found my way ♪ ♪ yeah, yeah, make it happen ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, lord, oh, oh, oh, whoa ♪ ♪ i once was lost but now i'm found, i got my feet on solid ground, thank you, lord, thank you, lord ♪ ♪ if you believe within your soul, just hold on tight and don't let go ♪ ♪ you can make it, make it happen, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go ♪ ♪ don't you let go, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go ♪

♪ never, ever let go, don't let go, don't never, ever let go, never let go, babe ♪ ♪ never, ever let go, don't let go, don't ever, ever let go, don't ever let go ♪ ♪ don't ever let, don't let go, eh, eh, eh, don't let go, don't never, ever let go ♪ ♪ never, ever let go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, no, no, don't let go, no ♪ ♪ if you believe, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, make it happen, you're gonna make it ♪ ♪ and if you get down on your knees at night and pray to the lord, pray to the lord, pray to the lord, hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ if you believe in yourself and know what you want, you're gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪

♪ ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, he's gonna make it happen, make it happen ♪ ♪ >> thank you! >> mariah carey. we'll have more music from her on a friday morning, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

♪ baby come and take me away mariah carey's 18 number one hits are second only to the beatles, and one of her current singles, "obsessed," off her new album "memoirs of an imperfect angel" is quickly climbing up to the top ten. mari mariah, good morning. they love you here, mariah, love you. >> i love you! this is my hometown. >> and i love the title of this album, "memoirs of an imperfect

angel." intriguing. what's that about? how did you come up with that? >> it's kind of a long story, so i'll kind of condense it. >> okay. >> everybody's imperfect, but we try the best we can, and it's tough. and just memoirs is the fact that i write and i write. i've been writing poems since i was a little girl. i write my lyrics and songs, and it's just a little bit of reflecting on life. >> and this album is all about reflecting on love. what have you learned through the years about love? >> i've learned that one needs to be selective and then you can find the right person. >> and am i thinking nick cannon as you smile? >> of course i'm thinking nick cannon. he's somewhere hiding. i don't know where he went. >> whirlwind romance, a year and a half later a marriage. how has he changed you? >> he's just very -- he's a calming person, but he's very funny. so he's got both sides of the spectrum going and it's really nice. >> look at that smile. and i want to congratulate you as well not just on the album, but also on the movi "precious." >> oh, thank you.

>> which is a really good look at teen pregnancy and incest. >> yes. >> it's getting rave reviews, a lot of oscar buzz and a lot of talk about you. you play a social worker, miss weiss, right? >> miss weiss. >> yes. that's a role with no makeup -- >> it's just like a little mustache here and a little under the eyes. i love lee daniels, the director. he really trusted me with that part. so, it was so great to be with that cast and now tyler perry and oprah winfrey are executive producing. so, i just feel so blessed, really. >> was that a hard part to do? i mean, because it's very, very powerful. >> um, it was difficult, but i think it freed me in a lot of ways, just you know, i learned a lot, yeah. >> we are so glad you're here. you're about to sing "obsessed." >> yes, it's a fun song. >> and are you amazed it's become so popular on the internet, so incredibly popular. are you amazed that you still can move crowds the way you have over the years, or -- >> you know what it is, i love,

i love my fans, and i think they really know it. they know it. especially the people that have been here for me so long, and it's almost like they're my friends and fans, so, i appreciate them just as much. >> they are definitely your friends. mariah carey, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> now go perform "obsessed." have fun. >> thank you. >> i was like, why are you so obsessed with me? ♪ so, oh, oh, oh, so, oh, oh, oh, oh, so, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ all up on the block saying we

met at bar when i don't even know who you are, saying we up in your house, saying i'm up in your car, but you in l.a. and i'm out at jermaine's ♪ ♪ i'm up in the a you're so lame and no one here even mentioned your name ♪ ♪ it must be the weed it must be the e cause you be popping hood, you get popping ♪ ♪ oh, oh, why you so obsessed me ♪ boy i wanna know, lying that you're sexing me when everybody knows ♪ ♪ it's clear that you're upset with me, whoa, oh, funny that i know you couldn't impress, last man on the earth still couldn't get this ♪ ♪ you're delusional, delusional, boy, you're losing your mind ♪ ♪ it's confusing y'all, your confused, you know, why you wasting your time ♪ ♪ got you all fired up wit cha neopolitan complex see right

through you like you're bathing with wind ♪ ♪ oh, oh, boy, why you so obsessed with me, hey, and all my ladies say, so, oh, oh ♪ ♪ and all my girls say, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, obsessed, oh, oh, h oh, obsessed ♪ ♪ you're on the job, you hating hard, ain't gonna feed ya, i'm gonna let you starve ♪ ♪ gasping for air i'm ventilation, you out of breath, hope you ain't waiting ♪ ♪ telling the world how much you miss me, but we never were, so why you trippin ♪ ♪ you're a mom and pop, i'm a corporation, i'm the press conference, you're a conversation ♪ ♪ oh, oh, why you so obsessed with me, and boy i wanna know, lying that you're sexin me ♪ ♪ when everybody knows, it's clear that you're upset with me,

whoa, oh, oh ♪ ♪ finally found a girl that you couldn't impress last man on the earth still couldn't get this ♪ ♪ you're delusional, you're delusional, boy, you're losing your mind ♪ ♪ it's confusing y'all, you confused, you know, why you wasting your time ♪ ♪ got you all fired up wit cha napoleon complex, see right through your like you're bathing in a window ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh, boy, why you so obsessed with me, oh, oh, oh, obsessed ♪ ♪ oh, oh, obsessed, oh, oh, obsessed ♪ ♪ oh, he's all up in my george foreman ♪ ♪ why you so obsessed with me,

and boy i wanna know, lying that you're sexing me ♪ ♪ when everybody knows it's clear you're upset with me ♪ ♪ finally found a girl that you couldn't impress, last man on earth, still couldn't get this ♪ ♪ obsessed, oh, oh, obsessed ♪ obsessed >> mariah carey, thank you. much more music's coming this friday morning, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

here she is with her version of foreigner's classic "i want to know what love is." once again, mariah carey. ♪

♪ ooh ♪ i've got to take a little time, a little time to think things over ♪ ♪ i better read between the lines in case i need it when i'm colder ♪ ♪ in my life, there's been heartache and pain, i don't know if i can face it again ♪ ♪ can't stop now, i've traveled so far to change this lonely life ♪

♪ i wanna know what love is, i want you to show me ♪ ♪ i wanna feel what love is ♪ i know you can show me ♪ i'm gonna take a little time, take a little time, a little time to look around me ♪ ♪ i've got nowhere left to hide, it looks like love has finally found me ♪ ♪ oh, in my life there's been heartache and pain, i don't know

if i can face it again ♪ ♪ i can't stop, i've traveled so far to change this lonely life ♪ ♪ i wanna know what love is, i want you to show me ♪ ♪ me ♪ i wanna feel what love is ♪ feel what love is ♪ and i know you can show me, show me, i wanna know, oh, oh ♪ ♪ i wanna know what love is, i want you to show me ♪ ♪ hey, hey ♪ i wanna feel what love is

♪ i wanna feel, oh, and i know you can show me ♪ ♪ ah ♪ i wanna know what love is, i want you to show me ♪ ♪ eh ♪ come on, let's talk about love, oh ♪ ♪ >> thank you so much, new york, i love you! and everybody else watching. thank you! god bless you! >> mariah carey. we're back with more music, but

>> live, local, and late breaking. good morning. i am mindy basera. it is because 55. some help is coming to dundalk businesses. they're getting a tax payer

relief due to the water main break. those who filed by november will not be charged interest, late payment fees,>> let's take a lor

forecast. >> we will see the clouds increasing throughout the day with a slight chance of showers this evening as the cold front gets closer to us. that will push for overnight but it is miles ahead of it. 73 depletes -- 73 degrees and cloudy. we have a chance of rain early tomorrow and that clearing and people on sunday, 73 and mostly sunny and sunny on monday as

well. >> will have another update at 9: 45.

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